Review by Booklist Review
Two inspiring and informative books offer new takes on garden adornment and enhancement. Clausen provides clear-cut plans, plant lists, and well-illustrated planting directions for all sorts of situations in sun or shade, outdoors and in the home. Tips and reminders are used to address design issues and maintenance, and to point out poisonous species. Clausen then suggests ways to beautify a spot by the mailbox, dress up a picket fence with cheerful annuals, introduce a geometric motif of edible flowers and appealing vegetables, and enliven a side yard with branch silhouettes. Although advice on plant culture is limited, the book's pretty layout and colorful photographs should entice novices to try something new in the garden. The theme of stone in the garden has emerged as one of the most compelling current trends. A classic dry-stone retaining or boundary wall can extend for a mile and cost a small fortune to have built, but installing a basic flagstone path will doubtless be within the scope and ability of many readers. Raines provides valuable how-to advice aimed at creating a variety of paths, ponds, patios, and benches. With years of experience under his belt, Raines shares wise counsel on design, safety, tools, and stonework techniques, including more mortared and veneered walls and columns. --Alice Joyce
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
